Summer Schoolabaloo for Two!

Last summer, I signed Carys up for Summer Schoolabaloo, a Mother's Day out program at St Bernadette's Church.  It was good for Carys to keep a little structure and to socialize with other kids.  She has always been shy and I thought summer schoolabaloo would help her.  It also gave me time with Ava.  We liked it so much, we signed both Carys and Ava up this year.  The most important part of the day for Carys was lunch, we got a monkey lunchbox for Ava and an elephant for Carys, just perfect.  

 The girls were all ready to go with their backpacks Auntie Kim had bought them.  The side pocket is just perfect for the ever important milk cups.

 Carys went twice a week and Ava went on Tuesdays.  We felt it was more important for Carys to get the feel of preschool as she is starting Bay Area Charter School in the fall.  At first Carys was shy, but you could see a change in her every week.  She grew more and more excited to go back and she started interacting with the other kids more.  She also started participating in gym, she was not a fan of the chaos of all the kids at first, but by the end loved it.  Summer Schoolabaloo was just what she needed. 

Ava cried at first being separated from her sister but was easily left after a couple weeks.  We enjoyed "Ava day", the days Carys went to school and she got our sole attention.  We plan to sign up again next year.

Destin Trip 2012

I had been wanting to do a family trip over the summer and knew with TJ's work schedule that early June would be the best time.  I thought Destin would be great as it was a halfway point to Jupiter Florida and TJ's mom could come meet us.  Little did we know we would have such a treat as the Great Grandparents joined her along with her husband Steve.  With all the things that have to go with the girls, driving would be the easiest way to get there.

 Carys was very excited about our road trip.  The girls were very well behaved watching lots of movies on our portable DVD player.  Thank goodness for car adapters!  We did stop along the way so the girls could play on a playground.  We had a fun scavenger hunt, finding that indoor playgrounds are common in Texas, but not along I-10.  We finally found one at a Chick fil a.

 We finally made it to Destin.  So many people had told me how beautiful it was and how awesome the sand is.  Confirmed.  I have been to many of the world's best beaches and it definitely is a contender.

 The best part of the trip was staying within walking distance to the beach.  We went every morning for the girls to play in the sand.

 Carys and TJ in the water.  By the last day, the girls were very comfortable with the water and had their "sea" legs.

 Carys loved all the new sand toys.

 Her pinwheel that Memere bought her is her new favorite toy.

 Sweet Ava loving the sand.

 A priceless day, digging in the sand with the Charest girls.

 Great Grandpa was there too.  I learned a lot about them on this day.  I have also never heard him talk so much.  A day to cherish.

 Carys still talks about making "soup".  Great Grandma, Memere, dug into the sand too.

 We were in Destin over Father's Day.  Here is my official father's day photo of TJ sharing his ice cream with his girls.

 Ava loving her time with Memere...and Memere loving her time with Ava.

 A carousel ride!

 Ava too!  I still do not know how Grams got Ava on the deer. 

 The girls with their Great Grandparents, Pepere and Memere.

 On the last day, the girls were working on their tans.

 Since we were going home the next day, we spent as much time on the beach as possible.  I also got some neat pics of the girls.

Destin was great.  We loved where we stayed and the drive was not that bad.  We plan to do more trips in the future.

Living in Space City

Growing up in Clear Lake, NASA is just part of our culture.  I used to babysit for an astronaut, his wife was my swim coach and I have taught many children of astronauts.  Not to mention how many people I know who work for NASA. 

 

When the shuttles were retired and Houston was passed over to house one, we were disappointed.  Houston is the heart of the Space program.  Instead we got the shuttle replica from Florida.  It was a very exciting event when it came via barge just down the street from us.  When they finally got it in place at the Space Center, I took the girls to check it out.  This is as close as we could get.  

 It makes me sad that they will never get to witness a shuttle launch.  I have such fond memories of my trip to Florida with my mom. 

 An Orion capsule.  It was hot and they were ready to go.  Someday they will understand how cool this was.